The Kenya–UAE CEPA: what it means for Kenyan businesses

On 14 January 2025, in Abu Dhabi, Kenya became the first mainland African country to sign a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with the UAE. The headlines that followed spoke of tea, meat and flowers flowing to the Gulf on better terms. Twenty months later, the question for a Kenyan exporter is simple: what has actually changed?

The honest answer is less than the headlines suggested, and more than nothing. The agreement is real and wide in scope, but it was signed without a tariff schedule, and as of September 2026 it is not listed among the UAE's agreements in force. For a Kenyan business, that shapes what to do now and what to prepare for.

This piece sets out the agreement's status, what it does and does not contain, the goods and trade figures behind it, and how a Kenyan exporter can position itself, with or without the CEPA. It builds on our wider view of the UAE–Africa trade corridor.

Where the agreement stands in September 2026

The facts, stated plainly:

• Signed on 14 January 2025 in Abu Dhabi, in the presence of President William Ruto and President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
• Kenyan ratification. Under Kenya's treaty law the agreement needs the approval of the National Assembly. The Ministry of Investments, Trade and Industry submitted it for ratification in 2025, and it was tabled in Parliament in November 2025. Health campaigners reported that the National Assembly approved it on 27 November 2025.
• Entry into force. The UAE Ministry of Foreign Trade's list of CEPAs shows 18 agreements, and Kenya is not among them. The treaty database kept by the World Trade Institute also records it as not yet in force. We have found no official announcement of an entry-into-force date.

In short: signed, taken through Kenya's Parliament, and not yet in force. Until both sides complete their procedures and the agreement enters into force, its provisions do not apply to shipments.

The tariff question

This is the point most coverage missed. Kenya's own memorandum to the National Assembly states that the agreement excludes market access, meaning tariff liberalisation, because both parties agreed to negotiate that chapter together with all the other East African Community (EAC) partner states when they are ready. The same memorandum notes that, for this reason, Kenya expects no loss of tariff revenue from the agreement.

So there is no schedule of tariff cuts in the signed text for Kenyan goods entering the UAE, or UAE goods entering Kenya. Tariff preferences will depend on a later EAC-level negotiation. For now, Kenyan goods enter the UAE under its normal customs regime, which applies a general duty of 5 per cent of the cost, insurance and freight value of imports, according to PwC's tax summary, with different rates for some goods. Check the rate for your own product's tariff code with UAE customs before pricing a contract.

The Kenya–UAE CEPA is a framework waiting for its tariff chapter. The exporters who benefit most will be the ones already selling in the Gulf when it arrives.

What the agreement does cover

Without tariffs, the CEPA is a rulebook for how the two countries trade. According to the Kenyan memorandum, it contains chapters on:

• Trade in goods, rules of origin, and customs procedures and trade facilitation, which set how goods qualify as Kenyan or Emirati and how they clear customs.
• Sanitary and phytosanitary measures and technical barriers to trade, which matter for food, meat and fresh produce.
• Trade in services, with commitments modelled on the WTO's services agreement and schedules of specific commitments.
• Investment, digital trade, government procurement and intellectual property, plus chapters on small and medium enterprises and economic cooperation.
• Trade remedies, dispute settlement and administration, including a joint committee to steer implementation, a review every five years and an exit clause on one year's notice.

The intellectual property chapter has drawn criticism from health groups, who argue that its provisions on pharmaceutical test data could delay cheaper generic medicines in Kenya. Pharmaceutical businesses should follow that debate closely.

The goods and the numbers

Kenya's main exports to the UAE are tea, the meat of sheep and goats, fruits, vegetables and cut flowers, according to the Kenyan memorandum, which also lists coffee among the products expected to benefit. The Office of the President gave the scale for 2023: meat exports to the UAE of Ksh 9.9 billion, more than half of all Kenya's meat exports, fruit such as pineapples, avocados and mangoes of Ksh 5.2 billion, and vegetables and flowers of Ksh 5.6 billion.

Two things stand out. The trade is heavily unbalanced, with Kenya importing far more from the UAE, much of it petroleum. And export figures swing with re-exported jet fuel sold to Gulf airlines at Kenyan airports, so the headline number says less about food and horticulture than it seems. According to Business Daily, the fall in 2025 moved the UAE from Kenya's largest export market outside the EAC to third place.

How a Kenyan exporter can use it

When the agreement is in force: proof of origin

Preferences under any CEPA depend on proving that goods originate in the partner country. The rules of origin chapter accepts three forms of proof: a certificate of origin issued by a competent authority, on paper or in electronic form, or an origin declaration made by an approved exporter, a facility both sides committed to implement within six months of entry into force. A proof of origin must be completed in English and is valid for one year. Product-specific rules apply, so each exporter should check the rule for its own tariff code.

Now: build the Gulf presence

The more useful work does not wait for tariffs. It is about how you sell in the UAE:

• Through a distributor. Faster to start and lighter to run, but the distributor controls pricing, customers and often the brand. Register your trademark in the UAE in your own name first.
• Through your own UAE company. A free zone company can hold stock, invoice Gulf buyers and re-export across the region. A mainland company can distribute directly across the UAE market. Our free zone or mainland guide sets out the choice.
• Through the trade fairs. Buyers meet suppliers at Gulf trade shows. Our UAE trade shows calendar lists the relevant events, and Gulfood is bringing an Africa edition, Gulfood360 Africa, to Nairobi from 4 to 6 May 2027, anchored in the CEPA.

How And Again Advisory helps

We are a Dubai firm registered in Meydan Free Zone, and most of our clients are African founders. For a Kenyan exporter, we coordinate the UAE end of the business: choosing between a free zone and a mainland company, forming it with the right trading activities, and activation, including visas, Emirates ID, a corporate bank account and compliance registrations. Most of our clients are registered in two to three weeks.

We also make introductions to buyers and partners in the UAE, and our weekly UAE Business Pulse will report the CEPA's entry into force and any tariff negotiations as they happen. We do not give customs or legal advice on rules of origin; a licensed customs broker or trade lawyer should confirm how your products qualify. For setup costs, see our cost estimator.

Final thought: prepare for the agreement you will get

The Kenya–UAE CEPA is a serious agreement with an unfinished middle. Its rules on customs, standards, services and investment are written; its tariff cuts are not. Kenyan businesses that wait for the tariff chapter before looking at the Gulf will start late. Those that build their UAE presence now, with the right structure, a protected brand and buyers who know them, will be ready to use every preference the moment it applies.